Quebec’s digital goods tax is the 9.975% Quebec Sales Tax (QST), and it applies to most paid digital content sold to Quebec residents, whether the seller is in the province, elsewhere in Canada, or overseas.1Revenu Québec. Suppliers Outside Québec Non-resident vendors and digital platform operators must register with Revenu Québec, collect the tax, and remit it once their taxable sales to Quebec consumers exceed $30,000. A dedicated track called the “specified QST system” handles these foreign and out-of-province sellers separately from domestic businesses.
Which Digital Products Are Taxed
The QST reaches taxable supplies of incorporeal movable property and services made in Quebec. In practice, that captures almost everything a Quebec resident might buy as digital content: streaming video and music subscriptions, downloadable software and apps, e-books, digital newspaper and magazine subscriptions, online gaming memberships, cloud-hosted software, and web-based services.2Revenu Québec. Collecting the QST Software delivered as a download rather than on a physical disc is covered too. The statutory language is broad enough that new categories of digital content are picked up automatically without new legislation.
The Rate and the Combined Tax Bill
The QST rate on digital goods is 9.975%, the same rate that applies to most taxable goods and services in Quebec, and it has been at that level since January 1, 2013.3Revenu Québec. Tables of GST and QST Rates A Quebec consumer buying a digital product from a non-resident seller also owes the 5% federal GST on the same transaction, so the combined sales tax reaches roughly 15%. Whether both taxes show up on the invoice depends on whether the vendor is registered for each system.
When a Non-Resident Vendor Must Register
Registration under the specified QST system becomes mandatory once a non-resident vendor’s taxable supplies to Quebec consumers pass $30,000.4Revenu Québec. Registration Under the Specified System – Operators of Accommodation Platforms Collection has to start as soon as the threshold is crossed. Once Revenu Québec approves the application, the business receives a registration number containing the letters “NR,” which signals to buyers that the vendor is operating under the specified system rather than the full domestic regime.5Revenu Québec. QST Registration for Suppliers Outside Québec
Specified System vs. General System
If a non-resident supplier also stores or delivers physical goods in Quebec, it may need to register under the general QST system instead. General-system registration numbers begin with “TQ.” A vendor that qualifies for both systems should register only under the general one.5Revenu Québec. QST Registration for Suppliers Outside Québec The general system carries more obligations but also grants full input tax refund rights, which specified-system registrants do not have.6Revenu Québec. Input Tax Credits (ITCs) and Input Tax Refunds (ITRs)
How Vendors Identify a Quebec Customer
The tax only applies to sales to “specified Quebec consumers.” Revenu Québec defines that as a buyer who has not provided a general-system (TQ) registration number and whose usual place of residence is in Quebec.7Revenu Québec. Specified Québec Consumer To confirm residency, the vendor needs at least two pieces of supporting information from this list:
- Billing address
- Home address
- Business address
- IP address of the device used at the time of the transaction
- Payment information, such as the location of the bank or credit card
- Identity module information, such as the SIM card country code for mobile transactions
- Landline service location
Two indicators must point to Quebec, and they cannot contradict each other. When data points conflict, the vendor has to gather more information before applying the tax. Most large vendors automate the check at checkout using billing address and IP geolocation.
A QST-registered business buying from a specified-system vendor can skip the tax altogether by handing over its TQ registration number before completing the purchase. Forget to provide it, and the buyer has to chase the vendor directly for a refund rather than claiming the amount on a return.
When the Platform Collects Instead of the Seller
A digital marketplace that facilitates sales by third-party sellers often carries the collection obligation itself. A platform operator registered under the general QST system must collect QST on incorporeal movable property or services supplied through the platform by sellers outside Quebec who are not themselves registered under the general system.2Revenu Québec. Collecting the QST Platform operators registered under the specified system have the same obligation for supplies made through their platform by unregistered sellers. For an individual seller using a major app store or streaming marketplace, this usually means the platform handles QST and the seller never deals with Revenu Québec directly.
Filing Deadlines
Under the specified system, the reporting period is always a calendar quarter, and returns are filed through the “My Account for suppliers outside Québec” portal. Both the return and the payment are due by the last day of the month after each quarter closes:8Revenu Québec. Reporting the QST
- January through March: due April 30
- April through June: due July 31
- July through September: due October 31
- October through December: due January 31
A return has to be filed for every quarter, even when no sales occurred.9Revenu Québec. Reporting GST/HST and QST Skipping a nil return can bring failure-to-file penalties. Payments are made in Canadian dollars, usually by electronic funds transfer.
Penalties and Interest
Missing a filing deadline triggers a penalty of $25 per day, capped at $2,500, on top of any late-filing penalty on the tax itself.10Revenu Québec. Penalty for Failure to File Collecting QST and then failing to remit it on time is more serious. The Tax Administration Act sets the penalty at 7% of the unremitted amount for a delay of seven days or less, 11% for a delay of eight to fourteen days, and 15% for anything longer.11Légis Québec. Quebec Code A-6.002 – Tax Administration Act Interest on overdue amounts compounds daily, so even short delays accumulate quickly.12Revenu Québec. Penalties and Interest Persistent non-compliance can also lead Revenu Québec to revoke a vendor’s registration.
Record-Keeping
Vendors have to keep detailed records of every transaction, including the evidence used to establish customer location, for at least six years after the end of the last tax year they relate to.13Revenu Québec. Keeping Registers and Supporting Documents If an assessment is disputed or an objection is pending before a court, records must be kept until the matter is resolved, even if the six years have already run out.
The Federal GST/HST Runs Separately
The QST is a provincial tax. A non-resident supplier selling digital products into Canada may also have to register under the federal simplified GST/HST regime, which imposes a separate 5% tax.14Canada Revenue Agency. Doing Business in Canada – GST/HST Information for Non-Residents The federal threshold is also $30,000, measured over four consecutive calendar quarters.15Canada Revenue Agency. When to Register for and Start Charging the GST/HST
Within Quebec, Revenu Québec generally administers both the GST and QST for businesses in the province. For non-resident digital suppliers, however, the federal simplified GST/HST registration and the provincial specified QST registration are separate processes with separate portals. A vendor selling across Canada can end up registered with the CRA for simplified GST/HST and separately with Revenu Québec for specified QST, filing in two systems that do not talk to each other.